Chester Water Authority, PA
Lead detected, under the action levels
Latest 90th-percentile lead: 4.76 ppb (monitoring period 2025-2025). The federal action level is 15 ppb today and drops to 10 ppb in Nov 2027; EPA's health goal is 0. Lead was measured in sampled homes but the 90th percentile is under both action levels. EPA's health goal for lead is zero, so test your own tap if your home was built before 1986 or anyone in it is pregnant or a young child.
About Chester Water Authority
Chester Water Authority serves about 140,437 people through 44,371 service connections, which makes it a very large system under EPA's size classes. It is owned by a local government (city, town, county or district) and draws surface water, in Delaware County, Pennsylvania. EPA system ID: PA1230004; phone on file: 610-876-8185. Call that number and ask whether your address has a lead, galvanized or unknown service line.
Lead results over time
That is down 9.14 ppb from 13.9 ppb in the period ending 2022. The highest 90th-percentile result EPA holds for Chester Water Authority is 13.9 ppb across 4 monitoring periods, none of them over 15 ppb (1 over 10 ppb).
| Period ending | 90th-percentile lead |
|---|---|
| 2025 | 4.76 ppb |
| 2022 | 13.9 ppb over 10 |
| 2019 | 10 ppb |
| 2016 | 9.52 ppb |
How Chester Water Authority compares
Of the 516 Pennsylvania systems with a lead result, the median latest reading is 2 ppb; 143 are over 15 ppb right now and 156 have gone over at some point. Chester Water Authority's 4.76 ppb sits at the 66th percentile in Pennsylvania and the 90th nationally (higher means more lead).
Neighbouring systems
4 other systems share Delaware County; 2 of them have a higher latest lead result than Chester Water Authority. If you are unsure which one supplies your house, the name on your water bill decides it.
| System | People | Latest lead |
|---|---|---|
| Veolia Water Bethel | 7,809 | 3 ppb |
| Brinton Manor | 196 | - |
| Pathways | 53 | 16 ppb |
| Southpoint Homeowners Assoc | 40 | 24.5 ppb |
Your move
Test your own tap with a certified lab first-draw sample; Chester, PA may offer free or low-cost kits through the utility. If your own line is lead, replacing the private side runs about $1,200-$12,300 (EPA average about $4,700). Ask Chester Water Authority whether it covers that cost before hiring anyone - many utilities now do.
These figures describe homes the utility sampled, not your tap. Only your service line record or a test of your own water answers the question for your house. The lead result guide covers how utilities pick the homes they sample. Systems that went over once often dip back under; here is what that means.